28 July, 2014

Phases of Life and Photography: & where "Minimalism" fits in.

In general, we all experience Three phases in Life.

Phase I: Accumulation

Phase II: Moderation

Phase: III: Shedding

Phase I: Accumulation

By accumulation I mean the race for material gratification in objects like cars, bikes, mobiles, gadgets, jewellery, luxurious houses, vacations etc and money in general. In this phase one wants to accumulate as much as he/she can or all of what is possibly available.

This is probably a good phase to try some wide-angle nature/landscape photography, where one can try and included as many elements as possible in the frame reflecting "accumulation". Now you may ask why only Nature or Landscape Photography?

Because in the accumulation phase you are still searching for beauty and perfection and the ideal world you want to live in. You are not yet bored of it. So this is an ideal form for people who identify themselves in this phase.

This identification does help, as once you identify the phase of your life you are currently in and align it with the kind of photography that you do, it will give you fantastic results.

Please See: Be it Photography or be it Art, it is all but a reflection of the photographer's/ artist's mind and what is he/she is currently experiencing in life and the phase he/she is passing through.

Phase II: Moderation

In the second phase i.e the phase of Moderation there is a sense of realization that what you already have or have accumulated is sufficient or maybe a little more than required but you are happy with it. You are content and free from the everyday struggle of making ends meet. You also have certain luxuries in life and the business is well managed and looked after by the staff.

If you find yourself in this phase you could probably try out some Wildlife or Street Photography as you now have some free time to go out and see how other people live or how the jungle life is.

Phase III: Shedding

It is only when you have reached Phase III is when you realize that you need to do away with all the Extra stuff that you have. Your understanding towards the benefits of "less" increases by the day and it starts reflecting in your personality. It is now that you really understand the importance of simplicity over luxury. The new luxury for you now is Convenience which is a by-product of simplicity. You also now have more time for yourself and have most of the answers of life that you have been looking for all your life.

This is a good time to look at doing Minimalist Photography or perhaps abstracts. As now your mind is almost like an empty slate with only the necessary data to hold, the results would be fantastic.